Killer Coke
A Never-ending Story of Exploitation, Greed, Lies, Cover-ups and Complicity in Kidnapping, Torture, Murder and other Gross Human Rights Abuses

Killer Coke Update | October 4, 2007


Big Bad Coca-Cola Losing on Many Fronts

Contents of This Newsletter

  1. College Updates
    1. Coventry University (England)
    2. Simon's Rock College (Massachusetts, U.S.)
    3. Smith College (Massachusetts, U.S.)
    4. State University of New York (New York, U.S.)
      1. SUNY Albany
      2. SUNY Binghamton
      3. SUNY Stony Brook
    5. Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania, U.S.)
    6. University of British Columbia (British Columbia, Canada)
    7. University of Illinois (Illinois, U.S.)
    8. University of Michigan (Michigan, U.S.)
    9. Washington State University (Washington, U.S.)
    10. Sponsor Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers to speak at your campus, conference or convention
  2. Large Carpenters Unions Go Coke-Free
  3. Coke Dumps Workers as Coke CEO Isdell Rakes in Tens of Millions
    1. United States
    2. Ireland
    3. Philippines
  4. Coke Guilty of Continued Health & Environmental Abuse
  5. Coca-Cola, Eskimos & Toothless Children
  6. Hot Seat Intensifies for Coke in India
  7. Information Coke would like you not to know about
  8. Campaign Article in The Sun News, Santa Fe, New Mexico
  9. Urgent Action: Send emails to Colombian President Uribe
  10. Bottled Water vs. Tap Water controversy hits the Media (Part 2)
  11. Major reports from the campaign that are useful in organizing
  12. Do you need a customized Campaign leaflet?
  13. Campaign's 'Campus Activism' Section
  14. Take Actions Against Coke!
  15. Please send photos, reports of events, etc. for the Campaign website

1. College Updates

We have active campaigns at many colleges, universities and high schools. Students mounting campaigns throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and elsewhere are working with us. We urge everyone to send in photos and updates about what is happening on your campus so that we can publicize your efforts to stop Killer Coke.

a. Coventry University (England)

Resolution of the Coventry University Student Union [UK]

An email from Coventry University Students Union: "Last year, Coventry University Students Union passed this motion to bring in an ethical alternative alongside Coke because of student concerns over Coke's ethical practices. Though it falls short of a full boycott, it is a step in the right direction and we will push for a full boycott this year."
Read Resolution

b. Simon's Rock College (Massachusetts, U.S.)

UPDATE to the successful campaign at Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

The Llama Ledger, "New drinks replace Coke in bookstore, vending machines: Activist Collective not happy [that Pepsi is a replacement]," By Timothy Cama, August 29, 2007
Read Article
"Students and employees returning to Simon's Rock this fall noticed a whole new line of drinks both at the bookstore and in on-campus vending machines, thanks to a successful campaign to remove Coca-Cola products from campus. While the Simon's Rock Bookstore now carries beverages from Polar Beverages, Inc., in Worcester, the eight new drink vending machines on-campus carry mainly Pepsi Co. products, a fact that doesn't please students who spent a good part of last year campaigning for the change..."

"[Katharina] Kempf, along with sophomore Elizabeth "Bizzy" Davis, had hoped that a smaller, more local company than Pepsi would supply drinks for the campus's vending machines. 'Pepsi is not a great alternative,' said Davis, adding that the company is 'not a small, sustainable business.' "
Read point 1a in our May 14th newsletter
Read May 7th article from The Llama Ledger

c. Smith College (Massachusetts, U.S.)

For those who missed reading the letter from Smith College President Carol T. Christ at the end of last semester explaining why the college was kicking Coke off campus after being at Smith for five decades, we wanted to print it again. Pres. Christ concluded: "As a private college with a public conscience, Smith College takes issues of human rights and environmental sustainability very seriously. Social responsibility is a core value of the college, one we aspire to reflect in our educational mission and in our campus operations. In severing our ties with the Coca-Cola Corporation, Smith joins other institutions and organizations around the world in urging Coca-Cola to take significant steps toward more responsible business practices across all realms of its operations."
Read entire letter

d. State University of New York (New York, U.S.)

State University of New York (SUNY) is the largest comprehensive public higher education system in the country, with more than 417,500 students...on 64 campuses across New York State. SUNY also has 1.2 million continuing education students. The three campuses listed below, at which campaigns have begun, are among the largest in the SUNY system.

1. SUNY Albany

Last semester, students at SUNY Albany got a campaign up and running as more than 1,200 students signed a petition to sever the school's Coke contract. This semester the Campaign is already visible. We received the following email from a freshman at SUNY Albany on Sept. 25:

"First of all I would like to state that I completely agree with your stance on The Coca-Cola Company.

"I attend the University at Albany, and today I saw a great deal of Killer Coke flyers up on the pillars. This got me excited in thinking that there might be some type of student group here. However, I can find no contact information on these flyers and do not know who put them up.

"I was wondering if there is such a group at Albany that you know of, and if so, could you give me some form of contact info so that I can help out." Of course, we put the student in contact with campaigners.

SUNY Albany Demands an End to Coke Contract

"On Tuesday May 1, 2007 Students for Worker's Rights held a Press Conference demanding the University sever their contract with the Coca-Cola Company after announcing that over 1,200 students supported a contract severance. Members of Students for Workers' Rights, including Bessam Sinan, Jackie Hayes and Sean Kite, read statements condemning Coca-Cola for its deplorable actions abroad and calling on UAlbany to sever all ties with such a disreputable corporation. Jim Collins, Anthropology Professor and member of United University Professions (UUP) read the anti-Coke resolution passed at the UUP's statewide Solidarity Committee meeting on April 20, 2007.

[United University Professions (UUP) Delegate Assembly (D.A.), the union's top policymaking body, voted to not serve Coke products at events and to urge UUP chapters to press for the termination of contracts with Coca-Cola on their campuses. The UUP is the union representing more than 32,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 State University of New York campuses, plus System Administration, Empire State College, and the New York State Theatre Institute. UUP is affiliated with the New York State United Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.]

Following the Press Conference students marched to the office of Susan Herbst, the Provost and current Officer in Charge, to deliver an anti-Coke petition signed by over 1,200 students along with a list of demands. Susan Hebst received the petition and demands, but refused to comment on her position.

Press Release: Students Demand UAlbany Sever Their Contract With The Coca-Cola Company
Read Press Release

Letter to Provost-In-Charge Susan Herbst
Read Letter

2. SUNY Binghamton

Students at SUNY Binghamton wrote us on September 27:

"We at SUNY Binghamton wanted to inform you that we are working on a Killer Coke Campaign. It is picking up steam and going well. We can submit pictures and articles to your site for publicity if you want."

We urge students at all schools to send us pictures, articles, updates and any other news on campaigns so that we can publicize their efforts.

3. SUNY Stony Brook

"The Social Justice Alliance's campaign against the Coca-Cola Company ended with a bang last semester, and organizers are already gearing up for what will be the final academic year before Stony Brook University's 10 year contract expires in June 2008.

"On May 9, members of the Coke Campaign participated in a meeting with administrators, members from Procurement and the Faculty/Student Association, and, most notably, four representatives from Coca-Cola. Also in attendance was Ray Rogers, the head of the national Killer Coke campaign that has helped over 40 colleges remove Coca-Cola from their campuses. The purpose of the meeting was for Coca-Cola to respond to accusations of severe human rights violations, including complacency in the murders of nine union workers at Coca-Cola's Colombian bottling plants and environmental degradation in India."

the stony brook Statesman (New York), "The Coke Campaign Enters the Home Stretch," By Adam Peck, September 6, 2007
Read Article

e. Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania, U.S.)

Swarthmore College removed Coke from parts of its campus in February 2006. A press release said: "Swarthmore College is removing bottled Coca-Cola products from some of its dining facilities and again calling on the company to permit an independent investigation into allegations of complicity in anti-union violence in Colombia."

Then in November 2006 another press release stated: "Swarthmore College will cease purchasing Coca-Cola products by the end of the year and again calls on the company to permit an independent investigation into allegations of complicity in anti-union violence in Colombia and water use in India. The action, prompted by the urgings of student leaders, follows a series of letters to Coca-Cola by the Swarthmore administration expressing concern about its alleged human rights abuses."

Now, Swarthmore's Board of Managers is trying to reopen the issue. David Gelber '63, Chair of the Social Responsibility Committee of the Board, stated: "...as I understand it, Coke has agreed to have the charges of labor abuse investigated by the International Labor Organization. In view of that, I'm not exactly sure why the students think Coke should continue to be penalized."

Unfortunately, Mr. Gelber is not aware of the discussion regarding the so-called ILO "investigation" or "assessment." After speaking to Sally Paxton, then-Executive Director, Social Dialogue, who Coca-Cola stated was in charge of the "investigation" at the ILO, we wrote:

"Coke's claims that the United Nations' International Labor Organization is doing an 'independent investigation' of the company's past and present labor practices in Colombia have no credibility whatsoever. The company's extensive personnel and financial links with the ILO and other UN agencies make such claims ridiculous, and the ILO itself contradicts Coke's assertion that it is conducting such an investigation.

"On April 12, 2006, the ILO's Sally Paxton told Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers in a telephone conversation that the ILO was not going to conduct 'an investigation,' adding that there won't even be an 'assessment' of the parent company, Coca-Cola. High-level ILO officials confirmed Ms. Paxton's interpretation in December 2006 and January 2007."

Then, in April 2007, The Michigan Daily (University of Michigan) published an article entitled: "Coke investigations behind schedule: Inquiries into alleged violations were slated to end in May," stating: "When Coke products were brought back to campus in April of 2006, the Dispute Review Board set a deadline for assessments of the conditions in both countries to be completed by March 31, 2007 and be reported to the University by April 30. By May 31, Coke is required to have a plan of action in place. So far, the investigations have missed the March deadline."

Now it is 18 months later, and still no credible investigation has taken place, nor will one occur. Indicative of what a sham this process has been, a June 6, 2007 article in the Sydney Morning Herald reported: "Employers led by a Coca-Cola executive [Ed Potter] stopped the International Labour Organisation examining violations of workplace rights in Colombia...The list was negotiated between the employers group and the workers group but the employers absolutely rejected the case of Colombia. It was like a veto...Colombia was the No. 1 priority for the workers group because that is the country which has the highest number of trade unionists assassinated every year. [Australian Council of Trade Unions's international officer, Allison] Tate said the spokesman for the employer representatives in the negotiations was the Coca-Cola Company's director of global labour relations, Ed Potter."

Clearly, Mr. Gelber and Swarthmore's Board of Managers are unaware of the fact that these "investigations" or "assessments" were never credible or meant to be completed.
The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore College " Coke Decision Pushed Back as Dialogue Continues," By Lauren Stokes, September 27, 2007
Read Article

The Campaign responded to the above article in The Daily Gazette:

Campaign to Stop Killer Coke's
Response to a Gazette Article (9/27/07)

Ray Rogers, Director, Campaign to Stop Killer Coke

No institution of learning, particularly one founded on Quaker principles and one that stresses the importance of ethics and morality should be lending its name, logo and credibility to Coca-Cola, nor serve as a marketplace for its sales and advertising. Below are a couple of reasons why Swarthmore should steer clear of any association with such an irresponsible corporate outlaw. More arguments can be found at www.KillerCoke.org.

1. Coca-Cola Continues to Impede Independent Investigations
Some 45 colleges and universities have removed Coke products from their campuses.
It has been nearly eighteen months since one university, the University of Michigan, foolishly announced that Coca-Cola products would be allowed back on campus. That was done after The Coca-Cola Company falsely claimed that the United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO) had agreed to do an "independent investigation of past and present labor relations and workers' rights practices of the Coca-Cola bottling operations in Colombia."

Coke's claims that the ILO is doing an "independent investigation" of the company's past and present labor practices in Colombia have no credibility whatsoever. The ILO itself contradicts Coke's assertion that it is conducting such an investigation. On April 12, 2006, the ILO's Sally Paxton told the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke in a telephone conversation that the ILO was not going to conduct "an investigation," adding that there won't even be an "assessment" of the parent company, Coca-Cola. High-level ILO officials confirmed Ms. Paxton's interpretation in December 2006 and January 2007.

Ed Potter, Coca-Cola's Director of Global Labor Relations, for many years has been the head spokesperson for the Employers' Group, a powerful role within the ILO, that allows him to promote the interests of big business and Coca-Cola, in particular.

Consider what happened at the ILO meeting in Geneva this past June: The Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald (6/6/07) reported: "Employers led by a Coca-Cola executive [Ed Potter] stopped the International Labour Organisation examining violations of workplace rights in Colombia..." Potter appears to be working to shield Colombia and Coca-Cola from any real scrutiny at a time when the Colombian government and multinational corporations, including Coca-Cola, keep getting unwanted attention for their ties to paramilitary death squads that prey on workers and their unions. Australian and U.S. labor representatives who attended the ILO Geneva conference have confirmed the accuracy of the Morning Herald's reporting.

The Michigan Daily reported on April 10, 2007 that all deadlines set by the University of Michigan for March 2007 were missed by The Coca-Cola Company. Those deadlines were for assessment of the conditions for Coke workers in Colombia and environmental issues in India. On April 30, 2007, investigation results were to be reported to the university. This could not be done, since no credible investigations have occurred.

In 2005, Mr. Potter was involved in the creation of a "Commission" consisting of representatives of major universities and prominent worker rights advocacy organizations that were trying to develop a methodology for evaluating how or whether Coca-Cola aided the paramilitaries. When the commission asserted its independence by kicking Mr. Potter out, so it could then be truly independent, Coca-Cola began backing away from and creating reasons to delay and obstruct any meaningful investigation.

Finally, Mr. Potter insisted that Coke couldn't participate at all unless the attorneys who sued the company agreed that any evidence of Coke's abuses that was produced could not be used in their lawsuits. The lawyers refused this demand since compliance would require them to violate the rules of legal ethics, something Mr. Potter knew. Whether such a demand by Coke indicates its guilt is a legitimate question.

2. TIAA-CREF Says Coca-Cola is Not Socially Responsible
In July 2006, The Coca-Cola Co. was dropped from the Broad Market Social Index (BMSI) list of socially responsible companies prepared by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., an independent investment research firm that is considered a world leader in defining corporate responsibility standards. It was reported in the Atlanta -Constitution (7/19/06) that "KLD based its decision on a number of issues including labor and human rights in Colombia and environmental issues in India..." This led to the divestiture of 1.25 million shares of Coca-Cola Co. stock by TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund)'s $9 billion CREF Social Choice Account, the nation's largest socially screened fund for individual investors.

In July 2007, despite lobbying by senior executives of The Coca-Cola Co. to reinstate Coca-Cola on the BMSI list, the Company suffered another severe setback. It not only wasn't reinstated, but its two largest U.S. bottlers were also removed from the list. TIAA-CREF has now divested its CREF Social Choice Account holdings in Coke's largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises, which has senior executives of The Coca-Cola Co. on its board who are also on the board of Colombia's largest bottler, Coca-Cola FEMSA, a defendant in human rights abuse lawsuits.

The lawsuits, alleging crimes against humanity, were filed in the U.S. in 2001 and 2006 by the International Labor Rights Fund and the United Steelworkers union on behalf of SINALTRAINAL, the major union representing Coke workers in Colombia, several of its members and the survivors of two of its murdered officers, Isidro Gil and Adolfo Munera.

The lawsuits charge that Coke bottlers in Colombia "contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders."

Contrary to the notion The Coca-Cola Co. does not "own its bottling plants targeted for its [human rights and environmental abuse] practices" ("Coke Decision Pushed Back as Dialogue Continues" (The Daily Gazette, 9/27/07), Coke in fact, owns 32% of Coca-Cola FEMSA, which primarily exists to produce, market and distribute Coca-Cola products. Besides the fact that Coke has top executives on Coca-Cola FEMSA's board and holds a large equity stake, it also has bottling agreements that make very clear the top-down control that Coca-Cola has over its bottlers. In Dec. 2003, Forbes magazine pointed out in an article entitled "Coke's Sinful World:"

"The biggest bottlers aren't subsidiaries of Coke, nor are they completely independent. Coke effectively controls them by maintaining big equity stakes and a heavy presence on their boards, and by providing their main source of business. Yet it keeps its stakes in the bottlers below 50% thereby avoiding getting hit with their piles of debt and any unpleasant liabilities."

Contrary to quotes attributed to Judge Rakoff and David Gelber in The Daily Gazette that courts in Colombia have rejected most of the charges that the 'Kick Coke' campaign has leveled, no court in Colombia has ever ruled on the human rights claims being brought against Coca-Cola. Even if such a court had, as the judge and Mr. Gelber erroneously believe, that would hold little credibility. U.S. State Dept. human rights reports point out that only a handful of the thousands of murders of Colombian trade unionists in recent years have ever resulted in successful prosecutions. "Cases where the instigators and perpetrators of the murders of trade union leaders are identified are practically nonexistent, as is the handing down of guilty verdicts," the State Dept. asserts. That's why victims of Coke's abuses in Colombia are seeking justice through the U.S. courts and appealing to colleges, universities and the public worldwide.
The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, "Kick Coke to present their case to Board of Managers," By Elena Chopyak, September 27, 2007
Read Article

The Daily Gazette, "Swarthmore College, "India Resource Center Defends Kicking Coke," By Amit Srivastava, September 26, 2007
Read Article

Inside Higher Ed, "Back to a Diet of Coke?" By Elia Powers, September 26, 2007
Read Article

The Phoenix, "Campus decision to kick coke under reconsideration," By Elena Chopak, September 20, 2007
Read Article

f. University of British Columbia (British Columbia, Canada)

The Vancouver Sun, "'The end of an era' at UBC [University of British Columbia, Canada]: Controversial 12-year deal with Coca-Cola expires on campus," By Jonathan Woodward, September 4, 2007
Read Article

"University of B.C. students heading to class today will see something on campus that hasn't been spotted for over a decade: Pepsi soft drinks. Ten Pepsi vending machines were installed into UBC's Student Union Building on Friday [August 31] — the same day a 12-year exclusivity deal between Coca-Cola, UBC and the student-based Alma Mater Society of UBC [UBC's Student Union representing 42,000 students] expired. 'This is the end of an era,' said Boris Kolby, news editor of the student newspaper, The Ubyssey.

"But students protested the [Coke] contract, alleging Coke didn't meet their ethical standards, said Jeff Friedrich, president of the Alma Mater Society of UBC, which oversees student-run clubs and businesses. 'It limited choice on campus, raised the price of a consumer product, corporatized education, and it looked like a cash grab for the university and the student society,' he said. 'This was an issue of real concern to people.' "

Note: Kevin Keystone, Vice President of Finance of UBC's Alma Mater Society in 2005, played a significant role in raising serious ethical concerns regarding Coke's widespread labor, human rights and environmental abuses. It is clear that Coke has suffered a major setback at UBC, but much work still needs to be done to make UBC a Coke-free campus.

Killer Coke

Brittany Tyson, Alma Mater Society of UBC vice-president, now has to decide between Pepsi and Coke after a controversial 12-year exclusivity deal with Coca-Cola ended at UBC. Photograph by Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun

g. University of Illinois (Illinois, U.S.)

Gatehouse News Service, "Coke protests state contract with Pepsi: Coca-Cola claims Illinois ignored its proposal," By Mike Ramsey, September 12, 2007
Read Article
"The state's recent decision to award an exclusive vending contract to Pepsi has left a bad taste with rival Coca-Cola officials, who have challenged the pending deal.

"The centralized deal with Pepsi would cover state buildings, parks, interstate rest stops and prisons under the jurisdiction of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration but not Springfield's state Capitol complex, which is under the secretary of state's office. It also would include vending rights at the Illinois State Fair.

"The four universities that would take part in the Pepsi deal are Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago and the University of Illinois campuses in Champaign-Urbana, Springfield and Chicago. The Champaign-Urbana campus has had an exclusive vending agreement with Coke, university spokesman Thomas Hardy said. Although the universities can still opt out of the Pepsi-only deal, the U of I intends to participate, Hardy said."
Read Aug. 6 Press Release from Coalition Against Coke Contracts

From our August 14 newsletter:

"Although summer is slow for campuses, a huge victory has just been won at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, a university of 43,000 students. The student campaign played a large role in influencing a state-wide decision to dump Coke and make Pepsi the beverage in more than 2,300 vending machines on Illinois' state property, including dozens of rest stops, four state universities and several prisons. University of Illinois is but one of some 45 colleges and universities that have kicked Coke off campuses due to widespread labor, human rights and environmental abuses."

h. University of Michigan (Michigan, U.S.)

In our August 14 newsletter we issued the following appeal to University of Michigan students:

"We feel that it is incredibly important that the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke become increasingly visible on the University of Michigan campus and that administrators are held accountable for the way they have continued to defend and support Coke in light of all the evidence that the university is being used as just another pawn in Coke's efforts at covering up its crimes and other unethical behavior.

"We ask that any students, student organizations, faculty members and labor unions on campus willing to help the Campaign wage its battle, contact Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers at (718) 852-2808 or by email at info@KillerCoke.org. Please be sure to include your phone number so we can talk to you."

The response was immediate and heartening. An organizing committee at U-M has been established. The committee's goal is to get U-M Chief Financial Officer Tim Slottow and the administration to act responsibly and to kick Coke off campus. The U-M Organizing Committee is asking students, faculty, staff, unions and others at the University of Michigan to email them at umcokecoalition@gmail.com if they are interested in helping in the Campaign. In addition, any one receiving this newsletter who has friends or contacts at U-M who would like to help the campaign are asked to have them contact the committee.

The committee will be distributing materials throughout the campus to educate the community about widespread labor, human rights and environmental abuses by Coke. They will need help in distributing thousands of leaflets, petitions, posters and other materials. We will be looking for people to hand out posters like those below to draw attention to the campaign.

Killer Coke Killer Coke

Below is the text of the petition that will be distributed campus wide for delivery to U-M President Mary Sue Coleman:

Petition to U-M Administrators:
Stop Covering Up & Cheerleading for Coke

Whereas, students brought issues to the attention of the University of Michigan community regarding complicity by The Coca-Cola Co. in widespread labor, human rights and environmental abuses in Colombia, India and elsewhere.

Whereas, in December 2005, University of Michigan banned the sale of all Coke products on campus.

Whereas, in April 2006, University of Michigan Executive Vice President & CFO Timothy Slottow announced that Coca-Cola products would be allowed back on campus after The Coca-Cola Company falsely claimed that the United Nations' International Labor Organisation (ILO) had agreed to do an "independent investigation of past and present labor relations and workers' rights practices of the Coca-Cola bottling operations in Colombia."

Whereas, The Michigan Daily reported on April 10, 2007 that The Coca-Cola Company missed all deadlines set by the University of Michigan for March 2007. Those deadlines pertained to assessment of conditions for Coke workers in Colombia and environmental issues in India. On April 30, 2007, investigation results were to be reported to the university. This could not be done, since no investigation had occurred.

Whereas, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on June 6, 2007: "

Employers led by Coca-Cola executive [Ed Potter] stopped the International Labour Organisation examining violations of workplace rights in Colombia..."

Whereas, The Coca-Cola Company was dropped from the Broad Market Social Index (BMSI) list of socially responsible companies prepared by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., an independent investment research firm that is considered a world leader in defining corporate responsibility standards.

Whereas, it was reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (7/19/06) that "KLD based its decision on a number of issues-labor and human rights in Colombia, environmental issues in India..."

Whereas, in July 2006, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) divested 1.25 million shares of Coca-Cola Co. stock and has banned further investments in its $9 billion CREF Social Choice Account, the nation's largest socially screened fund for individual investors, because The Coca-Cola Co. does not meet TIAA-CREF's standards as a socially responsible company.

Whereas, Coca-Cola's largest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), which provides Coca-Cola beverages to our university, shares directors with Coca-Cola FEMSA, Colombia's largest bottler and a defendant in human rights abuse lawsuits charging that Coke bottlers "contracted with or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilized extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders."

Whereas, in July 2007, CCE was also dropped, along with The Coca-Cola Co., from the TIAA-CREF Social Choice Account because neither meets TIAA-CREF's standards as a socially responsible company.

Whereas, some 45 colleges and universities and many labor organizations representing millions of members, including some of the nation's largest teachers' unions, have removed Coke machines and Coke products from their campuses and offices and banned the sale and distribution of all Coke products from their facilities and functions.

Whereas, campaigns against the company are growing worldwide for labor, human rights and environmental abuses in Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Turkey, the United States and other countries;

Whereas, it has been reported that The Coca-Cola Co. has been accused of benefiting from prison labor in China (BBC News, 5/21/07);

Whereas, the Environmental Law Research Center in Geneva issued a report in May 2007 concluding that "the availability of good quality water for drinking purposes and agriculture [in India] has been affected dangerously due to the activity of the Company [The Coca-Cola Co.]. Apart from that, the Company had also polluted the agricultural lands by depositing the hazardous wastes. All these point to the gross violation of the basic human rights, that is, the right to life, right to livelihood and the violation of the pollution control laws."

Resolved, that the University of Michigan must hold The Coca-Cola Company accountable by reversing the undemocratic April 2006 decision of VP & CFO Timothy Slottow and again banning the sale of Coke products on campus.

Resolved, that until The Coca-Cola Company can prove that it has taken genuine actions to become a responsible corporate citizen, this ban will remain in effect.

i. Washington State University (Washington, U.S.)

The Daily Evergreen (Washington State University), "Anti-Coke protest draws attention: The Anti-Coke demonstration draws attention at Campus Involvement Fair," By Alex Schwappach, September 13, 2007
Read Article

" 'As an institution of higher education, we should be wary of putting the WSU name behind the poor ethics of the Coca-Cola brand,' event co-organizer Andrew Goodin said."

Killer Coke

"Members of the Progressive Student Union gathered Wednesday on the Glenn Terrell Mall during the Campus Involvement Fair to protest alleged environmental and human rights abuses committed by Coca-Cola [Co.] 'As an institution of higher education, we should be wary of putting the WSU name behind the poor ethics of the Coca-Cola brand,' event co-organizer Andrew Goodin said."

j. Sponsor Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers to speak at your campus, conference or convention

You can help build your campaign while helping to finance the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke by sponsoring Director Ray Rogers to speak at your campus, conference or convention. Ray is also the founder of Corporate Campaign, Inc., which has a long history of labor, human rights and environmental activism. Ray has appeared frequently in media outlets worldwide. In 2006, Business Week described Ray as a "legendary union activist" and Time magazine wrote in the '80s that Ray has "brought some of the most powerful corporations to their knees, and his ideas are spreading."

The Nation, in a May 1, 2006 article on the Campaign, stated: "The Coke campaign has grown into the largest anticorporate movement since the campaign against Nike for sweatshop abuses." Ray helps finance the Campaign through speaking fees. He has spoken about the Campaign at campuses throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He is also available to meet with student organizations, student government leaders and campus administrators. Contact Campaign to Stop Killer Coke at (718) 852-2808 or by email at info@KillerCoke.org. Please be sure to include your phone number so we can talk to you.


Note: We are linking you to our newsletters and news releases from the end of last semester and during the summer, which highlighted major victories against Coca-Cola in case you missed them.

We reported on major victories at Smith and Aquinas Colleges," on how Coca-Cola led an ILO veto to stymie Colombia monitoring and investigation, and that The Coca-Cola Company and two of its largest bottlers, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, have been excluded from the list of socially responsible companies prepared by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. leading to TIAA-CREF dropping the companies from it CREF Social Choice Account, among many other important issues.

August 14, 2007 Newsletter: Coca-Cola's Woes Keep Piling Up with Big Losses

July 17, 2007 News Release: Coca-Cola Flunks Top Research Firm's 'Socially Responsible Investment' Test

June 27, 2007 News Release: Coca-Cola's Crimes and Misconduct to be Highlighted at U.S. Social Forum

June 14, 2007 Newsletter: Coke's Scandals: Colombia-ILO, Teen Health, Greenwashing

June 5, 2007 Newsletter: More Campaign Victories & More Coke Crimes

2. Large Carpenters Unions Go Coke-Free

Carpenters Union Local 405 Field Representative Jorge Moreno reported that his local adopted a resolution to ban Coke products from all meetings and events. At their recent summer picnic with 1,100 members and family, the event was completely Coke-free.

He also reported that Carpenters Local 22 and the Northern California Regional Council also adopted the resolution to ban Coke products. Local 405 and Local 22 are among ten largest locals in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. The Northern California Regional Council has 40,000 members.
Read Resolution

3. Coke Dumps Workers as Coke CEO Isdell Rakes in Tens of Millions

While Coke is laying off workers in the U.S., Ireland and the Phillipines, let's remember that in 2006, Coke paid its CEO E. Neville Isdell compensation of $32.3 million. (See the three articles below.)

a. United States

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Coke lay off 125 in U.S.," By Duane Stanford, September 5, 2007
Read Article

"Coke has struggled in recent years with lagging sales of some of its flagship carbonated soft drinks. The company has been especially hard hit in the United States, Coke's largest market by volume. The U.S. accounts for roughly 20 percent of Coke's global profit. Volume sales of Coca-Cola Classic have declined since 2000 in the United States, according to industry newsletter Beverage Digest. Volume sales of Diet Coke, which had growth steadily in recent years, fell for the first time in 2006."

b. Ireland

The Irish Post, "Anger as Coca-Cola close plant with a loss of over 250 jobs," September 5, 2007
Read Article

"...in a scathing criticism of the decision the union TEEU's regional secretary Arthur Hall said the decision was an illustration of corporate greed at its worst. Management plan to transfer operations to another site in Ballina. But Mr Hall said: 'The only reason why it is moving its main production to Ballina is that it has a nonunionised workforce there and can ensure less of its profits stay in the local economy.' "

c. Philippines

Cebu Daily News, "Cosmos Bottling Corp. terminates 142 employees," By Cris Evert Lato, September 4, 2007
Read Article

"In a press statement, Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) said that 'after thorough review of its internal operations and market growth opportunities, management has decided to implement certain initiatives.' One of these 'initiatives' is to transfer production requirement from Cosmos Bottling Corporation (CBC) facilities in Isabela, Pampanga, Iloilo and Cebu "to specified CCBPI plants under a toll-manufacturing agreement."

"On February 2007, the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company acquired 65 percent of San Miguel Corporation shareholding of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines (CCBPI)."

4. Coke Guilty of Continued Health & Environmental Abuse

a. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Coke using banned U.S. sweetener in Mexico," By Jeremy Schwartz, August 28, 2007

"Consumer advocates here are blasting Coca-Cola over its use of a sweetener that's been banned in the United States since 1969, but is now an ingredient in the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero."

"Sodium cyclamate, which is 30 times sweeter than sucrose and prized because it lacks a strong aftertaste, was outlawed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 38 years ago over cancer concerns. It was legalized in Mexico last year, shortly before Coca-Cola launched the Mexican version of Coca-Cola Zero, the soda giant's latest diet drink...

"The FDA ban has many in Mexico wondering how the sweetener can be safe for them, but not for consumers north of the border.

"The Mexican blogosphere has been heating up with diatribes against Coke. One Web site calls Coca-Cola Zero "poison," while another accuses Coke of using sodium cyclamate in Mexico because it is cheaper than other sweeteners. In the United States, Coke uses a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium to sweeten Coca-Cola Zero...

"Sodium cyclamate was approved in Mexico in July of 2006 and at least one consumer group wonders about Coca-Cola's ability to influence the administration of former President Vicente Fox, a top Coke executive before going into politics. The sweetener was approved about five months before Fox left office."

b. The U.S. version of Coca-Cola Zero contains aspartame, a sweetener that was forbidden by the FDA until Ronald Reagan appointed the president of G.D. Searle Co., Donald Rumsfeld, to his cabinet. Aspartame was then approved by the FDA.

Aspartame Awareness Weekend took place during Sept. 7-9. Dr. Betty Martini sent the Campaign an email announcing the events, which included links to videos and reports detailing the dangers of the artificial sweetener.

"This is Aspartame Awareness Weekend. Please see a one-hour lecture by Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon... 'Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills' is one of his three books and is on MSG and Aspartame.

"He also has a DVD titled, "Nutrition and Behavior," and a CD, "The Truth About Aspartame." You can get these from www.atavistik.com. With the new study sponsored by Food Standards in the UK showing additives cause behavioral problems, even temper tantrums, his DVD on Nutrition and Behavior is a must for all schools and pediatricians and OB-GYN. The "Truth About Aspartame" has detailed information about the Ramazzini Study which shows aspartame to be a multipotential carcinogen confirming original FDA records, as well as information on how to detox from aspartame. Here is the lecture: video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2384105525501310962

"You can read Dr. Blaylock's information in this document: REPORT ON ASPARTAME AND CHILDREN"

c. ACR News, "Coca-Cola gulps down fine for ammonia leak at plant," September 12, 2007
Read Article

"Coca-Cola swallowed a $4,400 fine for waiting nearly three days before telling authorities about an ammonia leak from a refrigeration system at its Bellevue plant."

Failure to properly report ammonia release nets Coca-Cola Bottling Company an EPA fine of over $4,400, Sept. 10, 2007
Read EPA Press Release

" '...the Coca-Cola Bottling Company was very lucky that no one was injured due to the ammonia release and the 2 1/2 day delay in notifying first responders,' said [Director of Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Compliance & Enforcement in Seattle Mike] Bussell. 'When these kinds of incidents occur, it is very important that facilities immediately notify appropriate agencies so that the necessary steps can be taken to protect the public and the environment.'

"Ammonia is considered an extremely hazardous substance and is listed as a hazardous substance under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)."

d. Water & Wastes Digest, "Michigan Company Buys Residents Water After Tainting Groundwater," August 28, 2007
Read Article

"Residents living near the Minute Maid plant in Paw Paw, Mich., have been told to stop drinking water from the tap and start drinking bottled water.The plant, owned by Coca Cola, has been spraying wastewater into the soil for 23 years. The wastewater has been contaminating wells in the area, and the company has taken responsibility."

This is one situation where Coke couldn't deny culpability as they have constantly done in India, Mexico, El Salvador, the Philippines and elsewhere regarding environmental abuses and in other places regarding labor and human rights abuses.

5. Coca-Cola, Eskimos & Toothless Children

(excerpts from "Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food" by Eric Schlosser (author of "Fast Food Nation") and Charles Wilson; (Houghton Mifflin, May 2006)

"...she has very strong feelings about junk food and soda pop. Several members of her family drink four to five cans of soda a day. Like many other Native Americans and Eskimos today, they've lost almost all their teeth.

"Kristina [Clark] has researched the subject and can tell you that during the 19th century you could travel far and wide in Alaska and never meet an Eskimo with a single cavity in his or her teeth...

"Today many Eskimos are toothless, thanks largely to their new diet. It's not uncommon to meet Eskimos who drink half a dozen cans of pop every day...

"Coca-Cola executives are well aware of the large demand for soda in Alaska. In recent years Coke has thought up some imaginative ways of advertising to Eskimo children. In 2000, The Coca-Cola Company and a local bottler in Alaska decided to paint airplanes that regularly flew from the town of Bethel into dozens of Eskimo villages on Alaska's west coast. The planes were covered with enormous Coke and Sprite logos. They delivered mail, soda, and supplies to Kasigluk and other villages in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The Coke planes were a strange sight, with their brightly painted soda ads, flying over 22 million acres of wilderness. The year after Coke painted the planes, it paid Trajan Langdon, the first Alaskan player in the National Basketball Association and a hero to many Eskimo children, to fly into Yupik village. Langdon arrived in Coke planes, visited children at schools, and gave out free t-shirts. "Young people in the small villages and towns of the Alaska bush often don't have the same opportunities as their big city counterparts," Coca-Cola said in a press release announcing the visits. "They seldom come into contact with anyone outside their small town. So when a group flies into the bush bearing gifts and an NBA star, it's quite the local event."

"Coke failed to mention that these Eskimo villages also don't have dentists...Edwin Allgair, a dentist who moved from Ohio to Alaska, finds in [Alaskan] villages [the problem of] "baby bottle syndrome." When mothers put soda or other sugary drinks in baby bottles, their children often fall asleep with the bottle in their mouth, creating a breeding ground for tooth decay...

Killer Coke

Baby bottle syndrome

"Kristina Clark was upset by the dental problems she saw at Glennalen Elementary School. She says it made her angry to see "little kids with their teeth all black..."

Kristina, a fifth grader, decided to do something about it and began campaigning.

"As Thanksgiving approached, the new principal thought long and hard about the arguments that Kristina had made about soda, about the courage it took for someone so young to speak out, about how she'd defended her beliefs when other kids disagreed. Mr. Johnson was impressed. Not long afterward, Kristina walked down the hallway and looked at the spot where her 'Stop the Pop' sign had once been. The soda machine was gone."

The Coca-Cola Co. and its executives understand the harm they are doing to children everywhere in the world, yet they continue without conscience in their ruthless quest for profits.

>6. Hot Seat Intensifies for Coke in India

a. Faversham House, " 'Pack your bags and leave' community tells Coca Cola," By Dana Gornitzki, August 24, 2007
Read Article

" 'It is time for the Coca-Cola Company to finally accept the mandate of the community and now the state. They should pack up their bags and leave from Plachimada,' said R Ajayan of the Plachimada Solidarity Committee."

b. Scoop Independent News, "Kerala Confirms Support Against Coca-Cola," Press Release: India Resource Center, August 21, 2007
Read Article

"In a significant government move against the Coca-Cola company, the chief minister of Kerala, Mr. V. S. Achutanandan, has promised full legal support to the community campaigning for the permanent closure of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Plachimada in the south Indian state of Kerala."

7. Information Coke would like you not to know about

a. Coca-Cola (KO) loses international brand strength

Three weeks after Business Week reported that Coca-Cola's brand name value lost close to $2 billion, a new report from GfK Custom Research indicates that Coke has taken a loss in "brand power," falling from first place to second, internationally. In contrast, Pepsi and Nestle have shown some gains in both reports.
Read about the study and see rankings
Read Article about the GfK Custom Research report
Read Business Week article.
See Rankings in Business Week
Read Point 2 of our Aug. 14 Newsletter: Coke's Brand Name Suffers $2 billion loss!

b. Social Funds: The largest personal finance site devoted to socially responsible investing, "Coca-Cola Remains Off KLD Index," August 17, 2007
Read News Brief

c. Private Eye (UK), "BAE Systems: Utterly Daft?" August 17, 2007
Read Article

d. New Statesman, "The real thing? By Mark Thomas, August 1, 2007
Read Article

"So great is the life of a Coke employee that a cartoon cheerleader (possibly a pear or a parsnip), tells us that she "could not imagine leaving". And in the piece de resistance, a female tuba player with an Hispanic accent asks the camera, "What have I given to Coca-Cola? My loyalty and my love, I give that." then she pauses and demurely chokes "Don't make me cry." So there we have it, working for Coca-Cola is brilliant! How do we know? A flying potato vouched for the company.

"Perhaps in the Milton Keynes version a penguin has just finished a 12-hour shift in hot and humid conditions. 'This used to be a good job once, but over the years it has changed.' "
Watch Happiness Factory that Mark Thomas describes

Killer Coke

Happiness Factory?

August 31, 2007 marked the 5th anniversary
of Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez's murder

Killer Coke

Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez
Member of SINALTRAINAL
at Coke plant in Baranquilla, Colombia
Murdered August 31, 2002

"Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez, was hired at the Coke bottling plant in Barranquilla in 1983. Mr. Munera worked as a truck driver for this facility. In 1996, Mr. Munera, who had been a vocal pro-union activist since his commencement of work with the Coke bottler, organized a successful strike against the Coke facility in Barranquilla. Because of his role in leading this strike, management at the Coke facility began a campaign of persecution against Mr. Munera, a campaign which included publicly denouncing him, without factual basis, as a 'guerilla' and prevailing upon both the AUC paramilitaries and the DAS to intimidate, harass, arrest and ultimately murder Mr. Munera. As part of this campaign, Mr. Munera began receiving death threats from AUC paramilitaries in the region shortly after the 1996 strike. From 1996 until the present time, managers at the Coke bottler in Barranquilla have permitted AUC paramilitary forces to freely enter the bottling facility and have met with these paramilitaries inside the bottling plant.

"The Coke bottler in Barranquilla terminated the employment of Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez on the pretense that he was a "guerilla" wanted by Colombian authorities. In fact, Mr. Munera was fired because of his pro-union activities. ...In 2003, the Constitutional Court of Colombia found that the Coke bottler had terminated Adolfo de Jesus Munera unlawfully and issued a back pay award, to be paid to his family, for the period from 1997 until his murder in 2002."

From the ATCA lawsuit complaint filed in June 2006 by the International Labor Rights fund and United Steelworkers on behalf of the widow of Adolfo de Jesus Munera Lopez and SINALTRAINAL.

e. SRI World Group, "To Avoid Risk of Alien Tort Claims Act Cases, Companies Must Improve Human Rights," by Bill Baue, August 17, 2007
Read Article

"Other companies, including Coca-Cola, Exxon-Mobil, Firestone, Shell, and Wal-Mart, face ATCA cases, and they should not necessarily consider the Drummond not guilty verdict as setting a precedent predisposing them toward winning their cases."

8. Campaign Article in The Sun News, Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Sun News (Santa Fe, NM), "Stop Killer Coke's Worldwide Abuses," By Ray Rogers
Read Article

This article, prepared by our Campaign, is on the front page of The Sun News, page 2 of the pdf, third paragraph. Others are welcome to reprint it.

9. Urgent Action: Send emails to Colombian President Uribe

This communiqué was sent by the Colombia Solidarity Campaign (UK) on behalf of SINALTRAINAL asking for help:

URGENT ACTION: SON OF COCA-COLA WORKER KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED

"At about 4pm on 27th September 2007, ANDRES DAMIAN FLOREZ RODRIGUEZ (son of JOSE DOMINGO FLOREZ, a worker at a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a leader of the trade union SINALTRAINAL) was returning from college to his home at No 204-102, 38th Avenue in the Andes barrio of Floridablanca in Santander when he was accosted by three individuals from a black van, they were carrying arms, communications radios and were wearing balaclavas. The three men took Andres in the van by force, threw him on the vehicle floor and started hitting him...
Read entire communiqué

10. Bottled Water vs. Tap Water controversy hits the Media (Part 2)

In our August 14, 2007 newsletter we highlighted the Bottled Water vs. Tap Water Controversy. Read Part 1 of the controversy at number 14 of the newsletter.

a. Democracy Now! "The Bottled Water Lie: As Soft Drink Giant Admits Product is Tap Water, New Scrutiny Falls on the Economic and Environmental Costs of a Billion Dollar Industry," August 1, 2007
Watch Democracy Now

Gigi Kellett. Associate Campaigns Director at Corporate Accountability International joins us in Boston. The group is spearheading the Think Outside the Bottle Campaign.

Michael Blanding. Freelance journalist and author of the article for Alternet.org "The Bottled Water Lie" and "The Case Against Coke" for The Nation

Alan Snitow. Award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. His films include "Thirst", "Secrets of Silicon Valley", and "Blacks and Jews". Co-author of Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water.

Killer Coke

b. Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Message in a bottle: Plastic 'souvenirs' raise recycling concerns, By Jim Haug, September 18, 2007
Read Article

"The Container Recycling Institute estimates that four out of five plastic water bottles end up in a landfill or incinerator instead of getting recycled. The city's bottles are recyclable but are not made from recycled materials. Of all the recyclable materials, plastic takes the longest to decompose, said John Anguilli, the interim director of solid waste for Volusia County.

"The other knock against water bottles is that they use up a precious resource. The Earth Policy Institute reported that 1.5 million barrels of oil a year are needed to manufacture the nation's water bottles, a figure that doesn't include the oil needed to transport the bottles."

c. The Daily Texan, "Watchdog group protests bottled water companies on West Mall," By Anita Avram, September 17, 2007
Read Article

"A few members of the organization [Corporate Accountability International] set up a table to conduct a water taste test. Participants received four cups of water, one filled with tap water and the remaining three cups filled with a different brand of bottled water. Participants then guessed which cup had which water. 'These bottled waters are indistinguishable in quality from tap water,' former UT professor John Williams said after taking the taste test...'These bottled water companies are making a lot of money by hoodwinking the public into thinking their water is cleaner and purer.' "

d. the Justice (Brandeis University), "EDITORIAL: Drink straight from the tap," September 11, 2007
Read Editorial

"It is our job as a university to lead the way. As Brandeis demonstrates its commitment to the "greenification" of its campus with the construction of environmentally sustainable buildings, now is the perfect time to show that our community, not just our architects, is dedicated to preservation. The tradeoff is easy: Give up the tap water that the Coca-Cola company puts into bottles for you, and drink from your own tap. If it's a purification process you need, get a Brita filter."

e. The Seoul Times (South Korea), "What Does Coca Cola's Dasani Bottled Water Have in Common with Death by Lethal Injection?" By Stephen Fox, August 31, 2007
Read Article

"The third largest ingredient in Dasani is potassium chloride. If you are to be put death, first you get a barbiturate, then a paralytic agent, and then the chemical to stop your heart (what a coincidence!) you guessed it: potassium chloride! "If you take everything out of the water, you don't get the crisp, clean taste that consumers desire," was the sanguine comment of Kim Price, spokesman for Coca-Cola. Question from Student at Oregon State University: I just noticed potassium chloride was listed as an ingredient in some bottled waters (Dasani, for example). But I remember from Chemistry and other sources of information KCl is used for lethal injections and is often times hazardous... so why would it be in bottled water?"

"From Wikipedia, on Potassium chloride:

"The chemical compound potassium chloride (KCl) is a metal halide composed of potassium and chlorine. In its pure state it is odorless. It has a white or colorless vitreous crystal, with a crystal structure that cleaves easily in three directions. Potassium chloride crystals are either simple cubic or face-centered cubic depending on what atoms are involved. If only potassium or chlorine atoms are considered, then the structured is face-centered cubic. However, both atoms form a crystal with a simple cubic structure: x-ray diffraction analysis will yield a simple cubic structure. Potassium chloride is also commonly known as "Muriate of Potash". Potash varies in color from pink or red to white depending on the mining and recovery process used. White potash, sometimes referred to as soluble potash, is usually higher in analysis and is used primarily for making liquid starter fertilizers. KCl is used in medicine, scientific applications, food processing and in judicial execution through lethal injection. It occurs naturally as the mineral sylvite and in combination with sodium chloride as sylvinite."

f. TheStreet.com, "Bottled Water Is Draining Your Bank Account," By Jeffrey Strain, August 28, 2007
Read Article

"If you drink bottled water three times a day and buy it from a vending machine for $1 a bottle, switching to tap water will save you over $1,000 a year. Even if you buy your bottled water in bulk, you will save several hundred dollars a year by switching to tap water."

g. OneWorld South Asia, "Bottled water costs us the earth," By Sunita Narain, August 28, 2007
Read Article

"In the water and economically-rich world, bottled water started as a luxury-a non-essential item of desire, health and status. The water came from fancy mountain streams: they were packaged and sold as mineral-filled sparkling water. It was different from tap water and a healthy (and snobbish) alternative to sweet and street smart colas. But soon, the industry grew. In most cases, the companies sold water that was not sourced from mountain springs but from public water: municipal water sources. Once the snob habit was formed and the market created, the companies simply packaged tap water in most cases into plastic bottles and sold it from supermarkets."

h. Niagara Falls Review, BOTTLED WATER IS NIAGARA'S DRINK OF CHOICE: But opponents to the bottled water industry say increased sales could jeopardize tap water safety," By Melissa Churly, August 24, 2007
Read Article

i. Marketing Web (South Africa), "Think Outside the Bottle," By Tracey Wraight, August 23, 2007
Read Article

"Have you heard of those restaurants in America that sell air? No jokes - air. Flavoured, purified and enhanced, oxygen bars around the world are tapping into a new public trend and are making a killing by selling a tankard of O2 for $13 a pop - what's more, people are sucking it up. Tracey Wraight warns that before you utter a snide "only in America," bear in mind that you are probably no different. Water, just like air, is readily available, and apart from your levies, it's largely free. Instead of turning a tap on, we would rather shell out R25 for a bottle of designer water."

j. The New York Times, "Keeping Cool, Clear Tap Water," Editorial, August 18, 2007
Read Editorial

"Americans have some of the best water in the world - a bragging point that seems to have gotten lost lately, even by those who take their daily exercise by waving the flag. Perhaps it is because the bottled water industry markets their product with waterfalls and soothing colors to make it seem like the clearest, cleanest, healthiest drink on earth. Unfortunately, that marketing can make tap water seem less clear, less clean and less healthy...The fear is that if too many people convert to bottled water, there would be even less political support for such spending. The last thing America needs is two water streams - one for the rich and another for the rest of us." Other
"Water, Water Everywhere, but Guilt by the Bottleful," By Alex Williams, Aug. 12, 2007
Read August 1, 2007 Editorial

k. Houston Chronicle, "BOTTLED-WATER BACKLASH: Rethink water, Cost-conscious Americans can still turn the tap to quench thirst," By Nicki Britton & Mary Vuong
Read Article

"Tap water is as hot as a Houston parking lot. It's safe to drink, supercheap, calorie-free and spiked with tooth decay-preventing fluoride, making you wonder why it fell out of favor in the first place. And while bottled water may have been the trendy choice for the past few decades - last year we drank 8.3 billion gallons of it, or 23 times the amount we did in 1976 - today, a backlash is bubbling. In Houston, tap water costs about a quarter of a cent per gallon. Bottled thirst quenchers can run a buck or two for a quarter that amount."

11. Major reports from the campaign that are useful in organizing

Critical Talking Points from the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
Read the Critical Talking Points on Killer Coke

LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS: 'The Real Thing' in Colombia, By Lesley Gill
Read Report

Colombia Solidarity Campaign, "The Anti-Coke Manifesto," By Andy Higginbottom, Secretary, Colombia Solidarity Campaign
Read Manifesto
Read Manifesto in Italian

"Inside the Real Thing: Corporate profile on Coca-Cola Corporation," Report by the Polaris Institute (Canada)
Read the report in pdf format

NYC fact-finding delegation's report on human rights violations by Coke - Final Report, NYC Council Member Hiram Monserrate, April 2004
View Full Report in pdf - html
View Appendices

War on Want, Press Release and Report, "Coca-Cola under fire as World Cup comes to London, Released March 20, 2006
Read Release
Read Report, "Coca-Cola: The Alternative Report"
En Español

Seven Points to Settlement
Read the Seven Points.

"ILRF Director Terry Collingsworth Response to Coke's Denials," July 8, 2004
Read Response

"University of Michigan Falls Prey to Another Coca-Cola PR Scam," Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
April 17, 2006 Press Release/Report

WB11, New York Feature on the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke
On July 11, 2005, WB11, one of New York City area's major television stations aired a special "Fact Finders Report" on the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke called "Coca-Cola Faces Human Rights Violations." Interviewed are Campaign Director Ray Rogers, Hofstra University Campaign Activist Vanessa Cudabac, New York City Council Member Hiram Monserrate, New York City Comptroller William Thompson and American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Secretary-Treasurer Terry Stapleton. This excellent feature was watched by millions on WB11 and, as we found out from supporters, watched by others around the world on satellite television.
Play Tape of Show

The Campaign's Response to Coke's Statements on the WB11 Feature
Read Response

Video, "State of the Union," produced by Insight News for Channel 4 of Great Britain.
Watch State of the Union

12. Do you need a customized Campaign leaflet?
When we invited supporters to contact us to "customize a leaflet for your campus, union or group," the response was terrific! We immediately began getting emails asking us to produce customized leaflets for numerous colleges, universities, high schools and middle schools. We put them up as soon as we could. We have leaflets for Australia, Canada, Colombia (in Spanish), India, Ireland, Japan, the UK and the US.

Because the demand for flyers was so strong, it took up too much server space. We decided to leave the list online with the schools listed for which we have customized flyers. If you need a copy of your flyer, please contact us and we'll email it to you as soon as possible.

Look to see if your customized flyer is listed.

If your school, union or group is not listed and you would like a customized leaflet, please contact us at info@KillerCoke.org. Please state the name of your school and the name of the sponsoring group, if any, and a local email address, if you want us to put them into the flyer. If you want the flyer for a group, please state the name of the group and an email address. Also, whenever you email the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, please include a phone number, if possible, in case we have a need to talk with you.

13. Campaign's 'Campus Activism' Section
Many students interested in launching a Campaign to Stop Killer Coke at their schools and colleges have been contacting us. We recommend that students begin by checking out the two organizing packets in our "Campus Activism" section:

In addition, there are numerous reports, resolutions and articles in the "Campus Activism" section that can be useful.

14. Take Actions Against Coke!

15. Please send photos, reports of events, and if you are in a school, union or organization that has banned Coke products, please send us the resolution or a description of how the decision was made. We would like the Campaign website to be up-to-date and to share the information via our newsletter. (Whenever you email us, please include your phone number and the best times to contact you, including weekends.)


Learn the truth about The Coca-Cola Co.

"We believe the evidence shows that Coca-Cola and its corporate network are rife with immorality, corruption and complicity in murder."
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke/Corporate Campaign, Inc. Director Ray Rogers

Visit www.KillerCoke.org